April 8, 2009

Not the Way to Get Around

I hate the Segway. I believe it to be a vast conspiracy to get Americans to stop what little walking and biking they already do now and render us all even fatter. Why o why would you have an "eureka" moment in the bathtub that goes "lets spend millions of dollars to replace walking"

And the new, bigger, two-person P.U.M.A. is even worse. It's way too big for sidewalks, poses a real hazard for both pedestrians and bike riders, but isn't fast enough or safe enough to hang out on the road with cars. And there's no way that cities can set aside space for a dedicated Segway/P.U.M.A lane. A built-up, walkable urban core just doesn't have any more right-of-way to set aside - after the sidewalk, the bike lane and the road there's no room left. We would wreak our densest and most walkable cities trying to make way for these beasts. And don't lecture me on the wonders of being zero emission electrical powered. These things are too slow and fragile to replace cars. They replace walking and biking, two modes of transportation that are already zero emission and have the added benefit of keeping you from dropping dead of a heart attack at age 39.

I'm a futurist. I love the future, I can't wait to see what comes next. But these little chunk of the future you can keep.